Prospect Street Historic District
Prospect Street Historic District is a small historic neighborhood in New London, Connecticut. It covers about 5.5 acres northwest of the downtown area, bounded by Bulkeley Place, Hempstead Street, Federal Street, and Huntington Street. Prospect Street runs north–south through it and contains 24 homes built mainly between 1838 and 1859. Most houses are Greek Revival, with four Italianate homes and one Gothic Revival; one early Federal dwelling also remains. Two original Greek Revival houses were later replaced by a Queen Anne house (1889) and a Colonial Revival house (1905).
The district was laid out in 1836 by developers Sabin Smith and Hezekiah Goddard after they bought the Hallam family estate, in response to growing demand for middle‑class housing tied to New London's whaling boom. Smith developed the northern half and sold parcels to builders who often worked with whaling interests. The typical Greek Revival houses are about 2.5 stories tall, except along Huntington Street where the hills make the basements exposed and the houses taller. A notable house is 17 Prospect Street, with a four‑column temple front copied from Minard Lafever's builder's guide. The Prospect Street Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 31, 1986.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 15:59 (CET).